Rusty's Southern Restaurant
Another service designer and I set off to ‘get more butts in seats’ at a promising new Southern food restaurant in San Francisco called Rusty's Southern. We used service design methods such as service safaris (ethnographic observation), journey mapping using the 5 E's framework (entice, enter, engage, exit, extend), and competitor research to tease out people's expectations of Southern food and how Rusty's delivered on those expectations. Along the way, we considered the full experience, from the dining experience itself across multiple seatings, to the UberEats delivery experience, to the space and decor, to the experience of interacting with the man himself, Rusty.
Skills
Service design, research, game design, prototyping
Impact
By identifying pain points and highlighting unique aspects of the current Rusty's restaurant experience, we will be able to help Rusty's Southern:
Offer a fantastic end-to-end dining experience, and
Attract and retain more customers
Discoveries
We identified three core themes from the research:
Authenticity and the Southern experience. There was an opportunity to excite diners and create a lasting impression by conveying Rusty and his team's expertise and authenticity in South Carolinan cuisine and craft beer.
Consistency. Inconsistencies in service had the potential to affect diners' experiences negatively.
Spaces. While quirks in the restaurant layout posed challenges that were as immovable as the tall column between the bar and the main dining area, small additions and changes to the entrance and decor could go a long way towards alleviating the awkward first-time experience and bolstering the authentic and homey atmosphere people expect from a Southern restaurant.
Workshop Planning
Before moving to the design phase of the project, we planned a design workshop to help the client digest the findings and get involved in brainstorming. Among the activities on the agenda, I designed a card game using the data we collected that results in participants creating a pretend restaurant experience. After drawing six cards and assigning emotional reactions to each of the scenarios on the cards, participants were asked to storyboard the experience and rate it. The game was originally conceived as a game of chance on a board, but we refined and transformed it through multiple rounds of quick and dirty prototyping.
What's Next
After conducting the design workshop, the team planned to embark on the design phase of the project. We could potentially touch on any aspect of the experience, from interior design, to customer service, to menu design.
Hungry for More?
Read on for more examples of my process.
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